Amendment No. 1 responds to state Supreme Court ruling

MURFREESBORO – Amendment No. 1 will give voters the chance to redefine the Tennessee Constitution when it comes to giving lawmakers the power to set limits on abortion.

Voters in the Nov. 4 election will also get the chance to ban a state income tax and grant the Tennessee General Assembly consent power when it comes to the governor appointing higher court justices, as well as require a two-thirds vote in both houses of the legislature to allow non-profits to hold fund-raising lotteries.

Opponents of abortion have worked to bring Amendment No. 1 to the ballot since the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2000 ruled it to be unconstitutional for Tennessee to require: informed consent and counseling with a physician to show a woman understands the procedure and medical risks; a three-day waiting period on getting an abortion after a woman first obtains the information about the procedure and risks; and any abortions that would come after the first three months of the pregnancy be performed in a hospital.

The majority of the justices in a 4-1 decision ruled that lawmakers went too far in setting limits on abortion.

"We conclude that a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy is a vital part of the right to privacy guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution," states the ruling. "As this right is inherent in the concept of ordered liberty embodied in the Tennessee Constitution, we conclude that the right to terminate one's pregnancy is fundamental."

Justice William M. Barker had a dissenting view on the ruling from the other four Tennessee Supreme Court justices.

"Plainly stated, the effect of the court's holding today is to remove from the people all power, except by constitutional amendment, to enact reasonable regulations of abortion," Barker's dissenting opinion states. "Rather than leaving policy decisions regarding reasonable abortion regulation to the General Assembly, this court has converted itself into a roving constitutional convention, which sees itself free to strike down the duly enacted laws of the legislature for no other reason than it feels they are burdensome and unwise."